Fans savor victory, as goal posts tumble

Just like Princeton's undefeated season, the goal posts at the west end of Franklin Field came crashing down Saturday as emotional fans swarmed the end zone following the Quakers' decisive victory Saturday. Before the final down, thousands of ecstatic fans were already poised to jump onto the artificial turf. And, as the final whistle blew, many in the crowd hopped the railing surrounding the field and headed straight for the goal posts, climbed onto the cross bar and brought down the uprights. This emotion and die-hard enthusiasm was the climax of a Quaker spirit that began building even before kickoff. As tens of thousands of frenzied Quaker fans crowded into historic Franklin Field, whispers of an Ivy League title could be heard throughout the Homecoming crowd. "If we win this one, we should win the Ivy League title," Engineering sophomore Cary Sawyer said as he walked through Franklin Field's gates. "There's no question we're going to win this game." Even before entering the stadium under Saturday's overcast skies, Quaker faithful were loud and animated in anticipation of the battle of the unbeatens – Penn and Princeton. Scores of students arrived with painted faces, red and blue clothes and large signs to drape over Franklin Field's second tier. But the sign Quaker fans really wanted was one reading "Ivy Champs '93." A victory would keep the Quaker football team undefeated and in an excellent position to bring a long-awaited Ivy League title to the University. And that's exactly what the spectators got – a victory over arch rival Princeton in front of the largest crowd of the season. Throughout the game, fans tried to keep their team inspired. They screamed "defense" and jingled their keys on important defensive plays. Students joined alumni in choruses of "Hang Jeff Davis" after every score. And after the third quarter, enough toast flew onto the field to fill a lecture hall. But the 30-14 victory took on a different meaning for everyone in attendance. Some spoke of the possibility of both a football and basketball championship. Others felt the Quakers had their revenge for last year's defeat at Princeton. And to some alumni, the game meant a resurgence of Quaker football and a satisfying victory over a team that used to run up the score during the 1960s. In 1963, Princeton defeated the Quakers 34-0. In 1964, the Tigers won 55-0. And, in 1965, the team from across the river won again, by the score of 51-0. Len Devorin, who graduated from Wharton in 1966, especially remembers the 1965 game. "When I was at Penn, Princeton was winning a game 48-0 with three seconds left to play," he recalled. "They brought in [Charles] Gogolak to kick a 50-yard field goal to rub it in. We couldn't win by enough today." As the game came to a close, Devorin and many other alums watched as students stormed the field, flying right past the security guards and heading straight for the goal post anchored at the west end of the field. After struggling with the uprights for a few moments, students managed to pull the posts down, carrying them out of the field and dumping them into the Schuylkill River. "We saw people rush the field from the endzone and someone said 'we have got to go'," said a College junior, who asked to remain anonymous. "Then all these people started jumping on the goal posts and they snapped loose. We carried the uprights out of the stadium and into the river." The last time Quaker fans threw the goal posts into the river was in 1988 after defeating Harvard University for a share of the Ivy League title. As the posts travelled toward the river bank, police halted traffic, cars honked and students chanted three phrases – Princeton sucks, Elias sucks, and Ivy champs.